[megwini]

I finally got my ears pierced at Claire's in February, and they seemed all right. Well they still seem all right, I'm just a little concerned about my right ear. I have... I don't know what to call it but a "donut cyst." It is like formed right around the hole and extends outwards in all directions, the hole being the "center" of the donut. Well I'm pretty sure it's a cyst. I had one in my left ear in high school, I think, like a squishy bump, and this one feels EXACTLY like that (the one in high school eventually went away, thank goodness, which is why I COULD pierce my ears... didn't think that piercing through a sac of liquid would be wise). I'm pretty sure it's not a keloid because it's not a bump sticking OUT, it's actually INSIDE my earlobe, not on the front or the back. Well, it's kind of sore. Not TERRIBLY sore, definitely ignorable, but is still sore. I wanted to ask your opinions though...
My hypothesis is that it is sore because the cyst is putting pressure on my hole, making it as small as possible (so the earring I keep in it at all times is the only thing preventing it from succumbing to this pressure and sealing up) and thus the earring is preventing this and the pressure of the cyst pressing against the hole in all directions is irritating it somewhat and making it sore... I could be completely off on this one but it's all I can think of. Also, taking earrings in and out is kind of painful in an unexplainable way... well it's putting them back in actually. There's definitely a hole in the back of my ear, but putting the earring back in, it's almost like... if I don't get the EXACT angle, the inside of the hole (between the front and back) is wider, just on the inside, so I can put it in and be poking at skin in the back with the needle because I don't have the earring at the exact angle to line up with the back hole so it won't go through until I find it and I have to keep "poking." I don't understand how that could be, as I would have though any excess space would have just sealed up? Maybe that's not what I'm experiencing though.... I don't get that on the left ear at all. It slides back in smooth as butter.
So I was just wondering what you ladies thought about this. It's not particularly painful, just a little puffier than the other earlobe (because of the cyst) and slightly sore, so it's kind of just an annoyance that I've been dealing with.

[net knee]

Could you be allergic to the type of metal the ear ring is made of? I get these things in both ears when i wear anything but gold... annoying and expensive! lol but what i do when i put my ear ring in when i have this problem is i take the ear ring by the stone- tip- whatever it may be and put it through the front, then i put my finger tip on it and push it very gently... and i kinda move it in tiny circles until it finds the back hole. This way you're not tearing it up inside by pushing hard and digging... or you could try gently pinching your ear lobe with your thumb nail of your left hand right beside the back hole. This way when you push it through with your right hand you can have something to guide you or basically something to aim for. You could try putting your nail directly on the back hole too while gently pinching, well i dont mean pinching but basically holding on to it between your fingers w/a little pressure. that way the distance it needs to travel through your ear is a bit shorter.... if i am making any sort of sense...lol if not, please ignore my rambling...
Hope it goes away soon and you feel better... btw, I liked to clean my piercings w/old fashioned Dial soap... I got the liquid hand soap and just lathered it up and worked it around the ear ring and twisted it then rinsed well...

[dgramie]

I kept those in my ears until I got 14K gold earrings and just left them in all the time. IF I decide to wear a cute pair of earring you can mark it down i will get one after just a few hours. I also have to have good larger gold backs. Not the tiny kind. Good luck!!

[ronni62]

A metal allergy sounds like a good possibility-try some nickel-free earrings. But, also, might want to have doc look at it to check for infection. Also, when I had surgeries, I developed keloids on the inside of the incisions, not on the outside where they would be visible-they just looked swollen and bumpy for a long time. Hope it gets better soon!